AC Milan's Rafael Leao reacts as Julian Carranza celebrates with teammates after scoring Feyenoord's equalizer in a Champions League playoff second-leg match in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday. Feyenoord won 2-1 on aggregate, knocking Milan out of the competition. REUTERS
Seldom has a player's sending off had such an influence on a game.
AC Milan was left to rue Theo Hernandez's second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the Champions League last 16 at the expense of the former European champion with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate.
Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, Europa League winner Atalanta, and French team Monaco, respectively.
"In soccer, everything changes in a second," said Milan forward Santiago Gimenez, who scored one of the competition's fastest goals against his former team, Feyenoord, in the first minute.
Gimenez's opener leveled the tie, after Feyenoord had won last week's first leg 1-0.
Milan dominated its Dutch opponent until Hernandez was sent off in the 51st minute, and his departure left Milan's defense looking anything but assured.
The France defender had earned his first yellow from referee Szymon Marciniak before the break for lashing out at a Feyenoord player following a foul on teammate Joao Felix.
Hugo Bueno crossed for Julian Carranza to head Feyenoord level on the night in the 73rd minute, enough to put the Dutch team into the next phase.
"We're very disappointed. We started well and scored straight away. It seemed like Feyenoord couldn't hurt us," Gimenez said of the game's pivotal moment. "Today it happened to Theo, but it can happen to anyone, this is soccer. We have the utmost respect for Theo. We will give him all our support."
Feyenoord's Givairo Read was also shown a red card following a melee after the final whistle.
Feyenoord interim boss Pascal Bosschaart was full of praise for his team's character after recent upheaval at the club.
The Dutch club's preparations for last week's first leg were far from ideal, when Feyenoord sacked Brian Priske two days before, but Bosschaart led it to a 1-0 win at home, and it finished off the job at the San Siro.
"What this says about the team is that they have character. I think that's what I'm most proud of," Bosschaart told Ziggo Sport.
"You have to remember that they have come through a very difficult phase, have received a lot of criticism, a change of coach, and then an unknown person comes in front of the group who occasionally throws in some empty slogans.
"That is a very difficult phase for them, but I do think we are very clear, very transparent and very honest, and this group responds very well to it, so I am proud of it."
Bosschaart's side could not have had a worse start in Milan, when former player Gimenez put the host ahead in the opening minute, but it fought back in the second half.
"If you concede a goal within minutes, the plan you wanted to execute will be different again," Bosschaart said.
"Everyone will now say that we took the upper hand after the red card, but I also thought in the first half that we played quite well. Only after the red card, it might be a little easier."
Feyenoord could return to the San Siro in the next round where it will face either Inter Milan or Arsenal, but for now Bosschaart needs to let its achievement sink in.
"It's beautiful. We are one round further, so very special," Bosschaart said.
"It's fantastic, but I have to say, it hasn't really landed with me yet."
Davies to the rescue
Bayern Munich needed a stoppage-time goal to see off Celtic and secure a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Bayern was defending a 2-1 lead over Celtic in its playoff tie from last week's first leg, but the Bundesliga leader was unable to put the tie to bed, with Harry Kane hitting the bar before halftime.
Instead, it was Celtic that went ahead on the night thanks to Nicolas Kuhn's 63rd-minute strike, when the former Bayern player slotted low into the net after a failed attempt to win the ball by Kim Min-jae.
That meant the tie was heading for extra time, but, ultimately Bayern would not need to go that far, as it scored in the fourth minute of injury time.
Alphonso Davies bundled the ball in from close range to make the score 1-1 on the night, clinching the tie for six-time European champion Bayern 3-2 on aggregate.
Vincent Kompany's team will find out its last-16 opponent when the draw is made on Friday, but it will be either German rival Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid.
"Of course, we always want to dominate and be much better than the opponent, especially here, but the result is always the most important thing," Kompany told UEFA.com.
It was a heartbreaking way for Celtic to go out, but the Scottish champion will take heart from its performance over the two legs.
"It never looked like we were going to concede the goal that we did and, sadly for us, we did. I can only take immense pride from the performance and the guys gave everything," said Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers.
Atalanta's efforts in vain
Club Brugge eliminated Atalanta with a 3-1 win in Bergamo for a 5-2 win on aggregate. The 19-year-old forward Chemsdine Talbi scored twice as the visiting side gave Gian Piero Gasperini's team a lesson in efficiency.
Atalanta had 29 attempts on goal, compared to seven from the visitor, and tried 89 attacks compared to 16 from Brugge.
Halftime substitute Ademola Lookman scored seconds after the restart to unleash hopes of a miracle — Atalanta needed three more goals to level the tie — but Simon Mignolet saved Lookman's 61st-minute penalty, and those hopes gradually faded.
Benfica reached the last 16 with a 3-3 draw against Monaco in Lisbon, giving the Portuguese team a 4-3 win on aggregate.
Agencies
